


Sit. Still

by SherlockRiverHekate



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Hurt Tony Stark, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28088196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlockRiverHekate/pseuds/SherlockRiverHekate
Summary: The Avengers had a mission in London. Nothing too far from the usual. The rest of the team just wish Tony would listen to them for once.Beta'd by Shadow_Kitsune
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	Sit. Still

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shadow_Kitsune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Kitsune/gifts).



The Avengers trudged back in the Quinjet, tired and sore after a battle.  
"At least they spoke English," Hawkeye muttered. "And London isn't too bad."  
"Speak for yourself," Iron man grumbled. "London is wet."  
"You were in the suit." Captain America pointed out. "You didn't get wet."  
Cap's suit was shiny with water, clinging to his body even more than usual, at least his cowl had protected his eyes and head. Both the Black Widow and Hawkeye were soaked through and their hair was dripping water into their eyes.  
"I got flung about," Iron man defended himself. "The armour has scratches and dents. It could rust!"  
Bruce looked at him from the cockpit, where he's been sitting and watching them. The Hulk hadn't been needed this time around.  
"Your suits are made from a titanium alloy, Tony. I don't think they CAN rust."  
"Not the point, Brucie."  
"Are we getting this thing in the air any time soon, or are we just going to chat?" Hawkeye asked, stowing his bow.  
"You can drive." Tony waved at him. He looked across at Steve, who had thrown a jacket over his suit, and then Natasha who was pulling a hoodie on. "Bruce can co-pilot. He's the only one not shivering."  
Once the jet was in the air, Steve looked across at Tony. He was sitting in a chair, head angled to the ceiling. It wasn't like the man to let someone else fly without at least going to check on them. But he appeared okay, if a little tired. He'd probably be back to his high energy self by the time they landed.

In Tony's jet, the normally seven hour flight took them only five. In that time Natasha, Clint and Steve had all decided to change out of their suits and into warmer clothes that had been stowed for this sort of situation. They'd received word that they didn't need to debrief with S.H.I.E.L.D today, so they were heading straight back to the tower.  
In all this time, Tony had barely said a handful of words. Bruce had asked him if he was alright, but Tony brushed him off.  
They were all tired, and Steve and Tony had borne the brunt of the attack, being the least destructible members of the team. Both had a few bruises coming up on their arms and Steve had an impressive bruise forming on his jaw. He'd also seen a few bruises along his ribs when he'd changed. Steve had been going to ask Tony how bruised he was, but the man appeared to be asleep. Plus, he'd had the armour on and that would have taken the brunt of the damage.

They landed in the tower, the lights of New York sparkling below them.  
"Good evening, sir." JARVIS greeted Tony as he stepped out. "Miss Potts has asked me to inform you that there is stew in the fridge for all of the Avengers and that she would appreciate if sir actually ate some this time."  
A cheer came from Clint, as he rushed towards the kitchen. Any food he didn't have to make was good food in his book. Steve followed behind him, his stomach growling. The snack he ate on the jet hadn't been enough to satisfy his enhanced metabolism. Natasha, Bruce and Tony followed in at a more sedate pace.  
"Thanks J. Tell Pep that I'll have some in a bit. I want to get started on fabricating the repairs for the armour first."  
"I don't believe that she will find that reassuring," JARVIS told him.  
"It won't take me more than half an hour," Tony brushed the AI's concerns off.  
Natasha and Bruce shared a look. Tony had sounded a little breathless, and all they had done was walk from the jet into the living area.  
Bruce dropped back a few steps to match Tony, while Natasha purposely lengthened her stride so that she was a few feet in front of them.  
"Tony, are you okay?" Brice asked quietly.  
"Yea, I'm fine big guy," Tony replied. "Don't need to worry about me."  
Bruce's eyebrows furrowed. "Tony, you sound out of breath. Are you sure you're okay? The arc reactor isn't damaged, is it?"  
Tony waved him off. "It's all good." He said, tapping the glowing casing. "My ribs are just a little sore. Getting thrown around inside my suit isn't the most comfortable scenario."  
"I could check your ribs, if you want?" Bruce offered.  
"Nah," Tony waved him off. "It's nothing a hot bath and some anti-inflammatory gel won't fix."  
Before Bruce could say anything else, Tony rushed to the elevator and disappeared down into his lab.  
"Is he okay?" Natasha mouthed. Bruce shrugged at her.

It was about an hour and a half later when JARVIS interrupted the Avengers, who were peacefully sitting in the lounge.  
"Sir has passed out in his lab. Could Dr Banner and Captain Rogers make their way to the lab?"  
Immediately Bruce and Steve jumped up.  
"Is the lab locked?" Bruce asked as he ran to the elevator.  
"I have unlocked the doors, and sent DumE And U to their charging stations." JARVIS informed them, sending the elevator straight to the lab level of the building.  
"JARIVS, what caused Tony to pass out?" Steve asked the AI.  
"Unsure, Captain Rogers. Oxygen level is low. Breathing rate was fast before passing out." JARVIS reported.  
"Any signs of a panic attack?" Bruce asked, as the elevator doors opened.  
"No, Dr Banner. Heart rate was normal."  
Tony was starting to come round as they entered the lab. They both rushed to his side, helping him to stand.  
"Tony, what happened?"  
"Don't know," the engineer replied. "I was starting to feel light headed. And then I woke up on the floor to JARVIS telling me that you were on your way. Talk about embarrassing."  
Tony tried to angle their trajectory to the couch, while Steve was pointing them to the door.  
"Where are you going, Cap?"  
"The med bay. We need to figure out why you passed out."  
"I'll be fine." Tony replied. "Just let me sit on the couch a moment."  
As he twisted he bit back a gasp of pain. He wasn't able to hide the full body wince that came from the pain.  
"Tony," Bruce began. "Are your ribs still sore?"  
"Yea, a tad. Nothing some Panadol can't fix."  
Bruce motioned to Steve, who picked Tony up bridal style. Tony sputtered and cursed, shouting to be put down, as Bruce and Steve walked out of the lab.  
"JARVIS, can you turn on the x-ray machine?" Bruce asked. "I think Tony has a bit more than some bruising on his ribs."  
Tony was still denying it as they walked into the med bay.

Bruce held the x-ray up to the light box and nodded. By this point, Natasha and Clint had joined them in the med bay out of curiosity.  
"Tony, you have three cracked ribs on your right. All on the side of your lower ribs." Bruce reported.  
"Damn," Tony muttered.  
"I don't need to tell you how dangerous this could have been if they were higher up or closer to the arc reactor. Broken ribs run the risk of puncturing a lung if not attended to." Bruce said.  
"I know, Brucie," Tony sighed. "They just didn't feel that bad. I mean, sure it was a bit harder to breath than normal, but I'm used to restricted lung space."  
Bruce nodded. "Alright, everyone else can go back upstairs. I need to wrap Tony's ribs."  
The rest of the Avengers filed out of the room. Steve paused before he left.  
"Do I need to ring Doctor Strange?"  
Bruce shook his head. "I'll talk to him later. There isn't much to be done for broken ribs, besides wrap them, ice and rest. But he is the Avengers primary care physician."  
Steve nodded and then left.  
As Tony carefully lifted his shirt off, Bruce could see blue and red mottling the entire right side of Tony's chest.  
"Dammit Tony. You didn't think this was worth getting checked out?"  
The other man shrugged. "Not that bad. I've worked with a battery attached to my chest in a cave in the middle of the desert with no hope of rescue. This isn't that bad."  
"You don't have to compare everything to that," Bruce frowned.  
"Gotta push through the pain, as my old man would say."  
Bruce made a grumbling sound as he wrapped Tony's chest.  
"All done. Now go upstairs, and sit on the couch."  
"I'll be right up after I've finished that last panel of the armour," Tony agreed.  
"No, Tony. Straight from here to the lounge. You need to rest, and I know you won't do that in the lab."  
"I won't even put the armour back together," Tony bargained.  
Bruce ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "Do I need to get Cap to come back down here and carry you to the lounge?"  
"No," Tony replied mulishly.  
"Good. Then please go straight up to the lounge, sit on the couch and eat something with ice on your ribs."  
Tony slipped off the hospital bed, and made for the door.  
"JARVIS will tell me if you don't," Bruce reminded him as he left.

The next morning Tony slept in late, and appeared in the avengers communal lounge room just before 11. He'd had a shower, and Bruce had checked and rewrapped his ribs after his shower.  
Tony sat on the couch, flipping through the channels before settling on Doctor Who. Half way through the episode, Tony had grabbed his tablet and was scribbling something down, twisting and turning the 3D image.  
Halfway through the next episode, Tony was happy with the design. He glanced around him. Steve was sitting by the window sketching and Bruce was at the table doing a crossword with his back to Tony. The assassin twins were in the gym and Thor was still is Asgard. Quietly, Tony stood up and made his way to the door. He was nearly there when Bruce spoke up.  
"Tony, where are you going?"  
Tony froze. "Umm, just down stairs?"  
Steve also turned around. "Whatcha got on your tablet?"  
"Oh, just a few ideas," Tony replied offhandedly. "Nothing much."  
"Sit back down," Bruce sighed.  
With both their eyes now on him, Tony slowly turned around and sat back on the couch.

About an hour later, Tony was fidgety. The show was interesting, but he was sick of sitting still already. There were a few projects for Stark Industries in his lab that he could work on without having to lift anything. Mostly to do with the new phone and tablet that were being developed. Once more, Tony looked around him. Steve had left the room about 10 minutes earlier and he couldn't see Bruce anywhere either.  
Sensing his opportunity, Tony quickly made his way to the elevator.  
"Sir, should you be leaving the floor?" JARVIS asked.  
"I'm only going to work on the internals of the phone, like Pepper's been asking. Nothing strenuous, J."  
If AI's could make a disbelieving noise, JARVIS would have. He did allow Tony down into the lab though. And true to his word, Tony did pull out the schematics for the new Stark phone and start assembling one.  
If Tony had stopped there, it wouldn't have been a problem. However, he was feeling alright and decided to begin reassembling the Iron man suit.  
"Sir, this goes against the advice of Dr Banner." JARVIS reminded him.  
"It's okay, JARVIS. I'll do a little bit and then stop," Tony said.

"Tony!" Bruce called as he stalked into the lab. Bruce had only been a couple of labs over, and when he left to get some lunch, he'd seen the lights on in Tony's lab and stopped.  
"Hiya Brucie bear," Tony replied, sitting up with a wince.  
"What are you doing?"  
"I was working on the new Stark phone, and then I figured, I'm feeling aright, so I'm just adding the new leg panels to the suit."  
Tony stood up, leaning on the suit for support. Now that he's stood up, the ribs were a little sore.  
"Upstairs, now." Bruce growled, grabbing Tony's arm.  
"Hey, careful!"  
"Now you're worried about your injuries!" Bruce shook his head, still dragging the other man with him. "I'm going to have to set a roster to babysit you," he muttered. "Maybe Natasha will be sufficiently scary to keep you still."

True to his word, Bruce called all the rest of the Avengers up at lunch time and they worked out a schedule so that someone was with Tony at all points in the day. Multiple times, Tony tried to tell them it was unnecessary but Bruce kept talking and they all ignored him.  
The first Avenger to sit with Tony after lunch was Natasha.  
They both sat on the couch at opposite ends, Natasha watching Tony' every move out of the corner of her eye. When he had first sat down, Tony was grumbling about how he was going to get bored and had nothing to do. That was when Natasha passed him a tablet and told him to do all the paperwork that Pepper had sent him.  
"How do you know I need to do paperwork?" Tony narrowed his eyes at her.  
"I worked for you, remember. My role was specifically to make sure you attended meetings and did your paperwork," she said from her end of the couch.  
Tony accepted the tablet, figuring he could work on designs for a new arrow for Clint instead.  
"JARVIS, block all functions not relating to the paperwork on Tony's tablet," Natasha said, not looking up from her magazine.  
"You're an evil, evil woman, Nat," Tony told her, resigned to his fate of paperwork.  
She just smirked at him.

About half an hour later, Natasha left the couch to swap Tony's ice pack for a new one. Once Tony could see that she was at the furthest point from the elevator and the couch he stood and started towards the elevator. He'd had enough of paperwork and he just wanted to go down to his lab.  
He was halfway there, when Natasha spoke.  
"If you don't sit back down I'll tase you," She said sweetly.  
Tony jumped, jarring his ribs. He turned and she was standing opposite him, ice pack in one hand and widow bites in the other.  
"Man, give a person some warning. I have a heart condition you know." He complained. He took the ice pack and went back to his position on the couch.  
"You know, you're not the first person to threaten to tase me," Tony told her.  
"Let me guess," Natasha said, "Coulson was the other?"  
He blinked at her. "How did you know? Did he tase you too?"  
"No," she smirked. "But he did tase Clint once."  
Tony's eyes light up. "Ooh, ooh. Tell me!"  
Natasha shook her head. "I don't think so. Maybe later, if you behave."  
Tony groaned. "You're no fun. I have to stay stuck here and you won't even tell me a story."  
"You're a child, Tony."

The next shift was Clint. At least the archer had brought snacks with him. Popcorn, chips and a bottle of drink each.  
"Dog cops marathon!" Clint cheered, flopping onto the couch.  
"Nooo!" Tony moaned.  
"YES!" Clint shouted. "The TV's here and you can't move. Perfect time for a marathon."  
Tony dove for the remote, completely disregarding his injured ribs. Clint also reached for it and they ended up with a game fo tug of war over the TV remote. Then Tony remembered that everything was linked into JARVIS' systems.  
"JARVIS, disable remote." He called. "And put on Quantum of Solace."  
Clint tried to change the channel using the now useless remote.  
"Aww, J. Would you really do this to me?"  
"Sorry Mr Barton, sir has the power to override all commands," JARVIS apologised.  
The movie had only been going for about ten minutes, when Clint threw out his hand while making a point, and hit the bowl of chips. They teetered on the edge of the couch before crashing to the floor.  
"Aww, chips, no." Clint said sadly. "Now I have to clean them all up."  
The archer stood and went to the kitchen to dump the floor chips and grab more chips and a new ice pack for Tony. Tony however, saw this as his opportunity to make a run for it, and hurriedly went to the elevator.  
"Tony, get back here!" Clint called. He put the chips down and ran for the elevator, but the doors closed on Tony just as Clint reached the elevator. Tony used his override to stop the elevator from allowing anyone else on.  
"You know that this is not in your favour, sir," JARVIS told him.  
"J, if I had to stay sitting there for another moment, I'd have gone mad."  
"Dr Banner is correct in saying you need to stay still for at least a week for your ribs to start healing." JARVIS commented.  
"If I have to stay on the couch under the watch of the rest of the team I WILL go mad," Tony said seriously. "I'm already going mad."  
He strode into his lab, only to find Bruce by his desk.  
"Clint let me know what happened," Bruce explained.  
"Bruuuuuuuce, I can't," Tony pleaded. "Please don't make me go back up there. I'm so boooooored."  
"It's for your own good, Tony," Bruce said gently. "Your ribs need time to heal, and you just push through the pain regardless. What would happen if the Avenges were called out and you hadn't healed?"  
Tony hated that Bruce was making sense. Just as Tony was about to say so, there was a flash of light and a rumble of thunder from the roof.  
"Oh, good." Bruce commented, rubbing smudges off of his glasses. "Thor's here."  
"You knew he was coming?"  
Bruce nodded as he slipped his glasses back on. Together, they made their way to the landing pad of the tower, stopping in the kitchen on the way to get more ice for Tony's ribs.

"Greetings!" Thor called out. "I received your summons."  
"Summons?" Tony turned to Bruce.  
"I thought he might have more luck getting you to stay still," Bruce shrugged.  
Tony glared at him, but let Bruce intercept Thor when the god went to pat his shoulder.  
"So, Thor, what's been going on in Asgard?" Tony asked.  
They chatted as the trio made their way to the communal living space.  
"You called in the big guns," Clint commented when he saw Thor.  
"Good luck, big guy," Clint said to him. "We've all had our turns babysitting this one," he gestured towards Tony. "Maybe you'll have more luck."  
"Don't know what the difficulty is," Natasha said drily. "I got Tony to stay still."  
"You threatened to tase me!" The man in question exclaimed. Clint winced at his words.  
"Not all of us carry all our weapons on us at every moment, Natasha," Clint reminded her. "I couldn't really stop Tony short of tackling him."  
"Yea, thanks for not doing that." Tony told him.  
"What has Stark done?" Thor asked curiously.  
"He broke some ribs on our last mission," Bruce told Thor. "And despite being told to stay still and keep ice on the ribs, he keeps trying to sneak off and build things in his lab."  
Thor turned to Tony. "Why do you not heed the advice of your healers?"  
"Staying in the one place gets boring. I'm sure you know what it's like, Point Break."  
Thor nodded slowly. "I see."  
He steered Tony toward the couch sat himself down, using his grip on Tony's shoulder to make the man sit. Once Tony was down, Thor flicked a blanket over Tony and sat on one edge of it. The other edge, he weighed down with Mjolnir.  
"Now, shall we watch the pictures of Disney that Lady Darcy was telling me about?"  
Tony looked from Thor, who was smiling too innocently at him, to the hammer on the couch and back again.  
"Well played, Bruce," Tony called over his shoulder. "Alright, Thor. Disney movies it is."

Thor proved to be the most effective baby sitter they had come across. He kept Tony still using Mjolnir, and when he started growing restless with the movies, decided to switch to board games. To Tony's surprise, Thor was quite adept at chess and strategy based games.  
"My father trained both Loki and I to lead from a young age. It would have been remiss of him to neglect to teach us about strategy when one day we would be leading his armies." Thor said to Tony when the other man mentioned the skill.  
Even Thor's best efforts to keep Tony still weren't enough to prevent the engineer from attempting an escape.  
"Thor, do you think you could let me up?" Tony asked.  
"Dr Banner made it very clear that you should remain still, Stark."  
"Yea, yea. But I don't think that extends to keeping me here when I really need to pee."  
Thor narrowed his eyes at Tony, who looked unblinkingly back.  
Finally, Thor nodded, and reached across to lift his hammer.  
"I expect JARVIS will tell me if you do not return," Thor mentioned.  
"Indeed," JARVIS replied.  
Tony waved a hand at him dismissively. "Don't worry."

JARVIS' voice came over the speakers to Thor.  
"I regret to inform you that sir has, yet again, attempted to enter his lab."  
Thor stood and made his way down to the lab level.  
Without a word, Thor picked Tony up, careful to not jostle his ribs, and made his way back to the communal area. Once there, he tucked Tony into a blanket and weighed down the loose edge once more with his hammer. Then he turned and left.  
"Thor, where are you going?" Tony called after him.  
"I will be back soon, Stark."  
With that, Thor left the room to go and find Bruce.

"He tried to escape from you, too?" Bruce asked as Thor entered his floor.  
"Yes. I have left him wrapped in a blanket and weighed down with Mjolnir." Thor replied.  
"This is getting ridiculous." Bruce rubbed the bridge of his nose.  
"I would ask Peter over," Bruce commented. "But I know that Tony carries web dissolver fluid. So his webs wouldn't be much help."  
"Was the sorcerer supreme not a medical doctor once?" Thor said.  
"Who, Strange?"  
Thor nodded.  
"Yea, he was. He was a neurosurgeon. But he got his MD before he specialised. And he is technically the Avengers resident physician."  
Bruce put a piece of paper in the book he was reading.  
"He may be of assistance then."  
Bruce nodded. "JARVIS, could you let Clint and Natasha know that I'm calling in Doctor Strange?"  
"Yes, Doctor Banner. Would you like me to connect the call?"  
"No, thanks JARVIS. I'll call him off of my phone."

When Doctor Strange arrived, he found all the Avengers in the communal living room. They were in the middle of a stare down. Tony was on one side of the room, while the rest were over the other, near the two exits.  
"Oh, come on guys!" Tony exclaimed. "They're only a little sore. I looked at the x-rays. They're not clean breaks, more like fractures. If JARVIS hadn't tattled on me, none of you would ever have known."  
"One ribs is very close to a through and through break," Bruce countered.  
"And JARVIS only 'tattled' because you passed out," Steve added.  
"Stark," Strange addressed him drily, closing the orange portal that was sparking behind him. "My favourite patient."  
"Oh, you've got to be kidding!" Cried Tony. "First you call Thor and now you call Strange?"  
"Really, we should have called Stephen when we took you to the med bay," Steve said. "But we thought you'd behave."  
"Considering your history, I would have thought you would be more careful with chest injuries," Doctor Strange commented. "How long has he had the injury?"  
Steve looked at his watch.  
"Not more than a day," he told the doctor. "He was thrown around on our mission in London yesterday."  
"Oh, yes. I heard about that." Stephen nodded. "The London sanctum notified me of your presence and they were on standby for assistance."  
Steve nodded in thanks.  
"He hyperventilated and passed out, and that's when we found the injuries," Natasha said.  
"Right. I've had a look at the X-rays, but I'd like to take Stark for a CT scan as well." Stephen told them.  
"The x-ray showed a few breaks in the lower ribs, that's all," Tony grumbled.  
"And that's why I want a CT." Stephen told him. "While a crack or break in the lower ribs doesn't risk puncturing the aorta or the lungs, it does risk damage to other organs such as the spleen, kidneys and liver."  
"His liver's probably already damaged," Clint piped up.  
Stephen smirked. "That's true, so it's better to check on any further damage. I also want to check your lungs, Stark."  
"My lungs are fine." Tony protested.  
"The arc reactor has already caused permanent damage to them, which was unavoidable. With reduced lung capacity, pneumonia is always a possibility. Pneumonia is well documented as a side effect of broken ribs, as the patient is unable to take deep breaths dues to the pain. The last thing I want is for you to develop pneumonia and cause more problems for your lungs."  
"I'm not sure if pneumonia would be better or worse," Natasha mused. "On one hand, Tony would be too sick to move. On the other hand, he'd probably do it anyway."  
"He would definitely do it anyway," Steve said darkly.  
"You sound like you're talking from experience," Stephen turned to him.  
"I am. But not Tony's."  
"Ah, yes. Before the serum you were prone to illness, weren't you."  
Stephen remembered reading that somewhere.  
"Ha! You can't lecture me on being careful. You were just as bad, Cap." Tony crowed. Then he doubled over coughing, arms wrapped around his ribs.  
"That's it. To the med bay." Stephen pointed to the door, and Thor picked Tony up again. The engineer gave him a half-hearted glare, but his arm was still clutched to his ribs.  
"I'm coming with you," Natasha told them, one widow bite already in her hands.

The CT machine was all ready to go, and Tony laid himself on the bed. As he did so, his T-shirt rode up a little. Stephen thought he saw a bandage, but Tony pulled the T-shirt down and then he was pushed into the room for the scan.  
Stephen reviewed the results, and was happy with what he saw. At a quick glance, there appeared to be no damage to the soft tissue or organs near the ribs. He would review the scan in more detail later, but for now he was happy.  
"Tony, did you wrap your ribs?" He asked.  
"Yea. Well, Bruce did. We had to rewrap them this morning after my shower." Tony confirmed.  
Stephen hummed.  
"Shirt off," He instructed.  
"There are easier ways to get a date than this, Strange," Tony winked.  
"You're not really my type," Stephen replied.  
"You wound me."  
Stephen sighed. "Take the shirt off. I want to remove the bandaging."  
Tony complied, with a lot of theatrics and winks.  
With the bandaging removed, Stephen took a look at the bruising. As he suspected, it was worse around the most damaged rib, the one closest to completely breaking.  
"I want you to be icing this every half hour for the next day," He instructed Tony. He reached for the bandaging, but Stephen intercepted him.  
"We aren't wrapping ribs anymore. I actually keep up with the latest medical news, which is why I'm your primary physician. Wrapping only makes it more difficult to take deep breaths."  
"Eugh, but it gave some support." Tony grimaced.  
"If you're in pain, I suggest Panadol. I can write a script for something stronger if you need it." Stephen told him.  
Tony waved him off. "Panadol will be fine. No need to give the press something to accuse me of."

Stephen watched Tony as he settled on the couch.  
"Thanks for that," Steve told the sorcerer.  
"It's really not a problem. Though he is the most difficult patient I've ever had." Stephen replied. "Sometimes I miss the days when patients came to me. At least they were grateful and listened to instructions." Without thinking he placed his hands behind his back.  
As soon as the group had turned their back on Tony, he tried to get up.  
"Sit back down, Stark," Stephen called out.  
The man ignored him, and Steve went to stop Tony.  
"No, watch this." Stephen smiled and waved his hand. A portal opened up below Tony and he landed on the couch. A few moments later, Tony stood up again, and again another portal opened up and deposited him back on the couch. This repeated another three times before Tony huffed audibly.  
"You win, Dumbledore."  
"That was, surprisingly effective." Clint commented from over by the window.  
"Unfortunately, it only works when I'm in the vicinity." The sorcerer informed them quietly.  
"The tower has enough spare rooms, if you can be away from the sanctum." Bruce offered.  
"Wong is there at the moment, so I could arrange that." Stephen agreed.  
"Guess what, Stark," He called over. "Looks like I'm staying over."  
That made Tony groan.  
"How long for?"  
"Only until you heal, or you learn to follow your doctor's advice. So about six weeks."  
"Someone save me!" Tony called out theatrically.  
"Oh no. You brought this on yourself," Natasha laughed.

Tony still tried to get up occasionally, figuring that the Sorcerer Supreme was too busy making everyone dinner to watch what he was doing. Each time he was returned to the couch via portal.  
"This is great entertainment, doc," Clint laughed as Tony was dumped back on the couch for the fifth time.  
"Did I tell you the time I linked a few portals and left Loki falling for, oh, about half an hour?"  
"It was most wonderful!" Thor exclaimed.  
"Tell me!" Clint's eyes lit up.  
Stephen opened a portal again as he began to tell Clint the story.  
"You'd think the sorcerer supreme would have something better to do than make dinner and continually open portals," Tony complained.  
"Nope," Stephen replied. "All interdimensional and mystical threats have already been dealt with. It was this or practise my Sanskrit."  
"We do appreciate your help," Steve told him.  
"It's no issue. It's nice to occasionally have a conversation with someone other than Wong."

It took just under a week for Tony to finally admit total defeat and only move to for necessities like the bathroom, sleep or food.  
Small pieces of equipment, mostly hand held, had made their way up from his lab thanks to Bruce. So Tony was welding something together when Peter came into the room.  
"Mr Stark!" The kid called out.  
"Hi Kid. I'm over here."  
Peter made his way to the couch, looking in interest at the make shift bench set up around Tony.  
"Why aren't you doing this in the lab?"  
Tony placed the welder down and pushed his goggles onto his head.  
"Banned from the lab until my ribs heal," he replied with a sigh.  
"Oh no! What happened?" Peter was shocked and a little upset.  
"Nothing too bad, kiddo. I just fractured a couple of ribs on a quick mission in London."  
"And we had to resort to magical means to get him to stay still," Bruce told Peter as he entered the room.  
"Hi Dr Banner!" Peter said cheerily. "Thor magical or Dr Strange magical?" he asked.  
"Both," Tony groaned. "They all ganged up on me."  
"And do you want to tell Peter why that was necessary?" Bruce raised an eyebrow at Tony.  
"I was mostly fine. I just wanted to go down into my lab." Tony defended himself.  
"Mr Stark, broken ribs aren't fine. You have to be really careful with those. May was telling me all about them the other day when I hurt myself."  
Tony frowned at Peter. "I was thrown into the side of dumpster, it was really embarrassing. But I'm totally okay. It wasn't that hard and with my healing factor I wasn't even bruised, so they weren't broken. May just thought she'd tell me about them so I know if it happens again. I'm fine."  
Tony settled back into the couch.  
"But you don't have a healing factor," Peter said. "You know how dangerous broken ribs are! You should really follow Doctor Strange's advice. What if they never healed properly? Or, if you went out on another mission and they punctured something important! That'd be really bad!"  
Peter was getting a little worked up.  
"It's okay, Peter." Tony assured him. "They're starting to heal. I'm staying still and icing the ribs now. There's nothing to worry about."  
Peter narrowed his eyes at him.  
"Promise?"  
"Promise, spiderkid."  
"And you'll listen to Dr Banner and Dr Strange when they tell you do things for your own good?"  
Tony looked at Peter's wide brown eyes and sighed.  
"Yes, Peter. I'll listen to them."  
"I hope you recorded that JARVIS," Peter grinned.  
"I did, Mr Parker."  
"You're a traitor, J." Tony looked over to one of the cameras.  
"I'm just doing what my programming says, sir. Look after Tony Stark." JARVIS replied.  
"Hey, if you're already here. Can we watch a movie?" Peter asked.  
"Sure. Which one?"  
Peter grinned at Tony. Tony sighed.  
"J, start A New Hope."


End file.
